


The Prosecution Rests

by mcgarrygirl78



Category: Law & Order: SVU
Genre: F/M, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-09-10
Updated: 2015-09-10
Packaged: 2018-04-20 01:04:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,847
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4767758
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mcgarrygirl78/pseuds/mcgarrygirl78
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“I gave you a statistical fact, which you then misinterpreted.”</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Prosecution Rests

**Author's Note:**

> I get to enjoy every moment I’m walking down the road with these two characters. I may turn this into a series or just keep going with individual stories. I'm not sure yet. I'm just sure I want to know more.

“I'm still mad at you.” He folded his arms.

“Oh c'mon, it was just a suggestion.”

“It was an awful suggestion. I would go so far as to say it was a criminal suggestion.”

“I wouldn’t.” she shook her head.

“I mean, after all this time…I would think you know me better than that. It’s not so much that I'm mad, just disappointed.”

“Are you through?”

“I'm just trying to wrap my mind around everything that happened and how we could’ve come to this.”

“Stop.” She laughed, sitting down beside him on the couch. “You act as if no one has ever offered you decaf coffee before.”

“Some have.” Barba said. “I'm no longer friends with those people though. We have to have the strength to cut toxic people out of our lives.”

“You're a caffeine fiend.”

“I dare you to say that five times fast.”

Olivia tried; she tried because she hated backing away from a challenge. She saw the look on his face and knew that’s exactly what it was. But she got tongue tied, threw her head back, and laughed. She sighed as her forehead fell gently on his shoulder.

“Most tea has caffeine in it you know.” She kissed his shoulder. Olivia rarely got a chance to do that. The way his body trembled, she knew she wanted to do it more.

“This is why I'm working my way around to forgiving you.”

“Oh yeah.” She sat up and looked him in the eye.

“Yeah.” Rafael ran the pad of his thumb across her cheek.

It was a dark and rainy night in Manhattan, thunder grumbled in the distance but hadn’t come much closer. The rain went from falling down in sheets to hard but steady over the course of the day. It was the perfect night to stay inside with something warm, someone warm, and make the most of it. Olivia had taken a half day at the office. She missed her son and wanted to go home. 

Rafael joined her and Noah at 7:30. He wanted to make sure to spend some time with him before his eight thirty bedtime. They were listening to the radio when he got there. 100.7 would play those soft rock songs from the 80s and 90s during the evening so the atmosphere in the apartment was relaxed. Noah loved music and Rafael enjoyed watching him and his mother dance together.

“ _Dance with us.” Olivia held out her hand as Peter Cetera crooned across the speakers._

_“Oh um,” Barba ran his hands through his hair._

_“Are you about to tell me that you have two left feet?”_

_“Something like that.”_

_“I'm dancing with a toddler…I think we’ll be OK.”_

_He took her and hand let Olivia pull him up from the couch. Noah was between them, which helped instead of making it more awkward. The truth was that he was simply afraid to touch her. Barba had touched her, in innocuous though intimate ways since that first date nearly five weeks ago. Nothing about it could be misconstrued as lascivious or sexual._

_It wasn’t as if he didn’t want to. There were times when he wanted to so badly he thought he would explode. Something held him back. If it was one thing Barba prided himself on it was his self-control. Since Noah was resting on Olivia’s shoulder the couple could still look at each other._

_The dance was nice; the song a longtime secret favorite of his. She kissed him before it ended, simple and chaste. Rafael backed away as the DJ’s voice invaded their space. He sighed, put his hand on her arm, and went back over to the couch._

_“I think I'm gonna put this guy down.” Olivia said. “He's had a really adventurous day.”_

_“Goodnight Noah.” Rafael stroked his hair. “Do you want me to spruce up a bit while you're gone?”_

_“Yeah, I appreciate that.”_

_When Olivia returned in 20 minutes, the living room was spotless. Not a single toy was out of place. She smiled as she turned off the radio and put on the television. Rafael was relaxing on the couch._

_“So, shall we squabble about it or can I pick the movie?”_

_“After two weeks ago I'm not entirely sure.”_

_“I have a surprise for you…to make up for that.”_

_“I’ll bite.” He smiled._

_She put the DVD in and sat down beside him. It was strange to her, he didn’t move in closer or try to put his arm around her at all. It was the same two weeks ago. Some parts of Olivia really wondered if Barba did like her. Then the rational part of her realized…he was a man who handled everything right._

_Even the things he didn’t he would pick up the pieces and make due. This wasn’t a court case. This wasn’t a black and white issue with a clear solution. Relationships weren't easy and they weren't his strong suit. Olivia could feel the feelings coming off him in waves when they were alone together._

_If she had to make the moves then so be it. She was a big girl, she could handle it. So she scooted over on the couch and cuddled with him. He exhaled when she was in his space, his arm coming to rest around her shoulder felt like second nature._

_“Oh, oh Liv,” Rafael smiled as the opening credits began to roll. “I love this movie.”_

_“You told me that once. I thought I owed you, I know having to endure My Best Friend’s Wedding wasn’t one of your finest hours.”_

_“If I didn’t like you as much as I do, I would’ve gotten more into how offended my sensibilities were. Sometimes I'm just a snob though.”_

_“You like me?” she looked at him and grinned._

_“I kinda like you.”_

_She gave him Eskimo kisses. When she moved away, Rafael took hold of her chin to bring her closer. There was nothing tentative about their kiss tonight. He was strong, passionate, and not too overwhelming. Olivia wrapped her arms around him, deepening it. Yes, this was what she had been waiting for._

_It had definitely been worth the wait. They spent the first 15 minutes of Dangerous Liaisons otherwise engaged. Their lips sufficiently flushed and swollen, Olivia and Rafael enjoyed the rest of the film. His favorite part was the way she kissed his ear and neck. He brought her legs across his lap and spent most of the time rubbing her outer thigh and hip. Who knew that he could enjoy a film so much more on his umpteenth view_?

“So tell me what's in our relaxing tea.” He looked at the entire tea set sitting on the table. 

It was chic and modern but still very Olivia. She told him it had been a house warming gift from her former partner’s wife many moons ago but it wasn’t often she had reason to bring it out. Rafael spent a good deal of time thinking about Olivia’s former partner. He didn’t know much about Elliott Stabler except legend; much of what he heard he didn’t like. That wasn’t unusual since alpha males usually butted heads even in their imaginations. The NYPD was full of them, and wannabes. The District Attorney’s office wasn’t far behind.

“Well chamomile is the main ingredient but there is also lemon balm and passionflower, which helps with anxiety. A cup of this is the perfect way to end the evening. I usually have a nice glass of wine and then a glass of tea.”

“This,” Barba pointed at it. “This doesn’t have caffeine in it.”

“No.” Olivia shook her head.

“You said this tea had caffeine in it.”

“I said that most tea has caffeine in it, not this one in particular.”

“Oh my god, Olivia Benson, you lied.” He feigned horror.

“Lie is a strong word. I gave you a statistical fact, which you then misinterpreted.”

“A statistical fact?” Rafael’s green eyes widened.

“Mmm hmm, a statistical fact.” She nodded.

“C'mere,” he pulled her close to him. “I've got some statistical facts right here.”

Olivia smiled as she surrendered to his kisses. He was a good kisser, eager and passionate. They worked well in sync, Rafael knew when to be slow and methodical or when to be fiery and desperate. They kissed a lot. They probably kissed more than Olivia and her last three boyfriends combined. 

There was certainly nothing wrong with doing what you were good at. It would be wrong to assume that she was disappointed. But her body, her body was so ready to go further. He would leave, after their movie nights, and Olivia would have to take matters into her own hands. Sometimes she swore he was running for the door.

“Your tea is going to get cold.” She ran her index finger down both of his lips.

“As a matter of fact I think I'm pretty relaxed right now.”

“I worry about you.” When she ran her fingers through his thick, dark hair Rafael moaned. “You can be so tense…our jobs are so tense.”

“And I missed our time together last week with the discovery motion from hell.” He grumbled, pushing himself into her touch like a much-loved cat. “I was not at all pleased about that.”

“Do you want me to move lower? I can work on your shoulders, your back, and any other place you might need it.”

“Liv…” Rafael took her hands in his. He couldn’t help but brush his lips across her knuckles. Close contact, intimate contact, seemed to feed his soul like nothing had before. “Shouldn’t we cater to each other?”

“Absolutely.” She smiled.

“I've tried to resist.”

“Don’t.”

“It’s been a while and sometimes the thoughts in your head aren’t the reality and everyone walks away disappointed. I don’t want to disappoint you.”

“You wouldn’t do that and I'm not walking away.” Olivia said. “We don’t have to do anything tonight…OK, that’s not true.”

“I'm sorry?”

“C'mon.”

She got up from the couch and held out her hand. It really was time to stop talking. They could talk to each other forever and a day, it was beautiful. It was also completely unnecessary right now. Olivia was ready, and even though his nerves were getting the better of him she knew that Rafael was too. 

There was nothing wrong with taking it slow. Taking it slow had benefits and Olivia wanted to indulge. She wanted to know every piece of him and show him every piece of herself. The days of wham, bam, and thank you ma'am were over. They both wanted something more…tonight would be just a preview of how awesome it could be.

“Where are we going?” Barba took her hand and pulled himself up from the couch.

“To bed.”

“Oh thank God.” He exhaled, wrapping his arm around her waist. He followed her step for step across the living room. “I was running out of things to say. Is that horrible?”

“No, but you're done running Counselor.”

***


End file.
